1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a machine tool including a table rotatable about an axis, the table having a work position for machining a workpiece and a standby position for preliminarily setting another workpiece, and a supporting member provided over the table and, more particularly, to a machine tool constructed so as to prevent cutting fluid, supplied to the workpiece in the work position during machining, from splashing toward an operator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A machine tool of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,319, for example. In this known machine tool, a partition is fixedly mounted on an upper surface of a table and a tongue member, as a chip guard element, is mounted on a lower surface of a beam. The partition and the tongue member are overlapped with each other, thereby preventing splash of a cutting fluid during machining of the workpiece. It is unnecessary to provide an automatic door or the like to be opened or closed, so as to avoid interference with the work during rotation of the table, thus reducing costs. Furthermore, the change of workpieces can be performed at high speeds.
However, when the tongue member, the chip guard element mounted on the lower surface of the beam, is formed of an elastic plastic, the tongue member is gradually hardened by the influence of the cutting fluid to cause curling of an end portion of the tongue member. As a result, a gap is formed between the partition and the tongue member and there is a possibility that the cutting fluid will splash through the gap toward an operator.
Further, when the tongue member is formed of a rigid material, such as a thin metal sheet or an acrylic glass plate, the partition contacts the tongue member during rotation of the table generating noise and shortening the life of the tongue member.